Saturday, October 21, 2017 Iowa vs. Northwestern (NCAAF) - 12:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 1.5/-110 Iowa Pick Title: 9 Star CFB Earlybird Line Mover (LOSS IN OT) Don't EVER get suckered in to play a game @ a sharp Vegas number! That is pretty much where their line currently exists. There's a few main reasons why we'll be on the side of the Black & Gold. More often than not, Hawkeyes' HC Kurt Ferentz (has the distinction of being the longest-tenured HC in the FBS) shines after a bye week. Add to that a revenge mode & his team becomes a tough out in a closely-contested conference game. Pat Fitzgerald's Wildcats defeated Iowa 38-31 in Iowa City last season. However, the 2 seasons before last year's upset saw The Black & Gold win by a combined 71 points). The Hawkeyes (won 20 games the past 2 seasons coming into this campaign) are far from a flashy team but usually get those nail-biting wins down the stretch. Remember, this Iowa team has showed up BIG on the road their last 2+ seasons registering a 10-2 SU record. The Hawkeyes "D" is ranked 21st in the nation in scoring defense yielding 18.7 PPG! We're going to Ryan Field in Evanston to side with the IOWA HAWKEYES (buying to + 3 1/2 @ -170) as my 9 Star CFB Earlybird Line Mover! Kentucky vs. Mississippi St (NCAAF) - 4:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 11.5/-106 Kentucky Pick Title: Mike's 9 Star Barking Out Loud Dogger (LOSS) Yes, Mississippi State has been playing better ball since their blowout losses to Georgia & Auburn. However, the bulk of their defensive stats were beefed up against the lower competition like Char. Southern, La. Tech & recently B.Y.U.. Kentucky is booming offensively under the game plan Eddie Gran, come in with revenge for the last time out in Starkville 42-16 embarrassment just 2 years ago. "The Boys From Lexington" I believe have turned the corner after 6 straight losing seasons turned into a 7-6 record last year AND now sit a crime away from a perfect 6-0 SU this year after only getting edge by Florida 28-27 a month ago. The Wildcats have 17 starters back from last season & have the advantage of 2 weeks prep time for these Bulldogs & actually come off a distraction game they squeaked by over Missouri on Homecoming. Kentucky has won both road games @ Southern Mississippi by 7 & @ South Carolina by 10 thus far. I love our chances getting double-digits & being fresh here. Let's go to Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville to play the KENTUCKY WILDCATS as my 9 Star Barking Out Loud Dogger! Arizona vs. California (NCAAF) - 8:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -150 Arizona Pick Title: 9 STAR Headliner Moneyliner(WIN IN OT) I made the mistake of under-estimating the talents of Arizona's new Super Sophomore QB Khalil Tate whose team has rushed for 882 yards since he was inserted & scored 46 PPG. Now the 4-3 Cal Golden Bears (lost 3 in a row SU before WSU) have to try & top their stunning 37-3 blowout 17-point dog win over pass-heavy Washington State with a win over run-heavy Arizona? Sounds like they'll need more than a few TO's or fumbles (they won the turnover war versus the Cougars by a staggering 7-0 last week) from a 4-2 Rich Rodriguez' squad coming in with a bigger head of steam. Until a team figures out how to stop Tate & the Wildcats' option, I'll ride this train til' it stops if the prices are right. Tate has rushed for 577 yards but more amazingly did it on just 29 attempts! Getting around 20 yards per carry is still quite the feat when you've done it over a stretch of 2 games. Are you're thinking there would be a little drop off in the passing game with those amazing rushing stats? Think again! Tate's been spot-on there too completing 21-for-26 good for 302 passing yards & a 2/0 TD/INT ratio. it's interesting to see how this plays out with Arizona having Washington State coming in for homecoming next week followed by a roadie @ U.S.C.. For now, I'll challenge the Golden Bears to stop this option with the distraction of homecoming & being on cloud 9 off their big upset. Let's go to California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley to play the ARIZONA WILDCATS as my 9 Star Headliner Moneyliner! Central Michigan vs. Ball State (NCAAF) - 3:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -145 Central Michigan Pick Title: 9 Star MAC-Daddy Play Of The Week (BLOWOUT WIN) Yes, both of these teams have had their ups and downs thus far both coming in with losing records - Central Michigan @ 3-4 & Ball State @ 2-4. On the surface, it looks like the Cardinals might have the advantage coming off the bye & having their homecoming. However, the efficiency of their offense has been atrocious the past few weeks. They've averaged 9 PPG the last 3, given up a whopping 40 PPG & have lost the turnover war 8-2 during that stretch. The Chippewas under the direction of 3rd-year HC John Bonamego (16-17 thus far) have shown they can go on the road & beat somebody winning @ Big 12 Kansas 45-27 & @ MAC-East front-runner Ohio 26-23. Now we're asking them to hold serve again against a Mike Neu (2nd-season with a 6-12 record) Ball State team that's struggling right now. I love our chances with Central Michigan (return 9 starters on offense) whose gone bowling 3 consecutive seasons & 2 straight since Bonamego took over the reins. Let's go to Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana to play the CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS as my 9 Star MAC-Daddy Play Of The Week! Thursday, October 19, 2017 Memphis vs. Houston (NCAAF) - 8:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 2.5/-106 Memphis Pick Title: 8 Star AAC West Division Survivor (EASY WIN) Here's a showdown between 2 west division opponents of the American Athletic Conference. The loser may be considered a long shot to make it to the championship against Charlie Strong's South Florida Bulls @ Scott Frost's Central Florida Knights survivor on Turkey Friday, November 24th. For this matchup, Memphis has gone 5-1 SU for a few reasons. One BIG one is the play coming from QB Riley Ferguson (710 passing yards the past 2 weeks) who leads the AAC with 1,814 yards passing & 19 TD's. WR Anthony Miller is dangerous outside having 45 receptions for 606 receiving yards & 9 TD's. Tailback Darrell Henderson is dangerous having rushed for 542 yards good for 3 TD's & a lights-out 8.1 YPC! They're also getting strong help on returns from Slotback Tony Pollard whose averaging 39.3 yards per return that's already translated into 2 kickoff returns for a TD this season. Memphis (5-1 SU) has just one hiccup this season losing @ Georgia State 27-21 just 3 weeks ago. DC Chris Ball has had a ball-hawking defense over the past 2 weeks registering 8 takeaways. Starback Austin Hall is their catalyst having recorded 44 tackles this year as well as having 2 INT's & a fumble recovery in a 30-27 upset of Navy last Saturday @ Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. In the numbers has us paying strict attention to the Tigers who have won 11 straight non-Saturday regular season games including 6 of them away from home. Memphis has played fast on turf going 6-0-1 ATS their past 7 while the Cougars come in with a no-show 1-8 ATS record in their last 9 conference games. New HC Major Applewhite (still adjusting to his new team after Tom Herman bolted for the Texas job & last season's brilliant scorer in QB Gary Ward-10 TD's rushing-22 TD's passing) has his team playing decent ball (4-2 SU) of late but may still be unsure if he'll be sticking with backup QB Kyle Postma (805 passing yards, 5/4 TD/INT ratio) or going back to his opening week starter Kyle Allen (replaced in the 4th quarter versus Texas Tech) who almost has like records having thrown for 771 yards with a 4/4 TD/INT ratio their first 3 games. My bottom line says the Tigers shine on turf & are ranked 13th in the nation in points scored with 40.3 PPG & ranked 14th in total offense averaging 490.7 yards per game with 310.5 of those yards passing. Let's go Tdecu Stadium in Texas to play the MEMPHIS TIGERS (who return 9 offensive starters) as my 8 Star AAC West Division Survivor! My 2017-18 CFB Seasonal Overall Record: 20-19-----51%
 

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